Just so you know, I was eating Red Skins and had Criminal by Britney Spears on repeat when I came up with this... if it wasn't obvious. Unlike my other stories I actually sat down and thought this one out a little, so I'm hoping it goes well.

So here it is, the first chapter of Criminl (Yea, I'm still thinking of a better name). Enjoy! :)

"HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

As soon as James heard those words he shoved the money from the cash register into his jeans pocket, along with his gun. Sprinting to the shop exit, he jumped through the window without so much as a second thought. The glass shattered around the criminal as he landed, falling onto his back. James winced when a few shards of glass cut into his skin, but he forced himself up, seeing some security guards catch up to him. He ran down the dark street, the street lamps barely lighting the footpath and road. The weather wasn't helping much either. It wasn't raining too much, but it was enough for James to make the occasional slip in a puddle or two. James finally caught sight of his motorcycle parked at the edge of the street and let out a sigh of relief. He got on and sped off, managing to put his helmet on with one hand, the other steering the motorcycle.

James looked over his shoulder, groaning when he saw two police cars going after him. He stepped harder on the accelerator, weaving in and out of the LA traffic as the police continued to chase him. He never knew how there was so much traffic at two in the morning, but decided that now was not the right time to question it. The cool wind blew fiercely, the shards of glass in James' arms somehow digging themselves deeper into his skin.

Yep, he definitely regretted wearing a shortsleeve.

James did his best to ignore the pain in his arms and focused on escaping the police, who were getting closer and closer by the second. "Crap." he muttered to himself. His hazel eyes lit up when he found what seemed to be a dark side road. James wasn't entirely sure though, since the rain had gotten heavier, soaking his black shortsleeve and black jeans. He turned left, speeding down the empty and narrow street. The street widened and James turned right, joining a busy street. Checking to see if the police were still following him, his heartbeat calmed down when he found the street empty of police cars and blaring sirens. He had done this hundreds of times, but he still got worried every time. Ugh, the criminal life is not easy, he thought to himself When James halted at a red light and his stomach grumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten for a little over twelve hours. He was pretty sure the taxi driver next to him heard his stomach. The red light turned green and James continued to drive, in search of a restaurant or fast food place.

Eventually he came across a diner, the shining yellow sign on top of the small building hard to miss. He parked his motorcycle on the darker side of the building and made his way inside.

Once James stepped inside the diner he was surounded by warmth. There were a few heaters in different parts of the diner, and it made him forget about the freezing rain outside. Hoping no one noticed the glass and blood on his arms, James quietly sat down at an empty booth in the corner. He made an uncomfortable face once he sat down, remembering that his clothes were completely soaked. After looking at the menu and deciding what he wanted to order, a waitress came up to the booth he sat at. Her brown eyes were kind and welcoming. "Hi, I'll be your server for the evening... or early morning," She corrected herself after seeing the time on the wall clock. "What would you like to order?" James told her his order and she wrote it down, walking off to take another order. As she left, James took in her appearance.

She wasn't super short, but she was just below the average height. Her wavy blonde hair was up in a high ponytail. She wore a loose dark red t-shirt and some denim shorts, along with a pair of black Doc Martens. A name tag was pinned to her top, but she was standing too far from James for him to read it. Overall, she seemed kinda tomboy-ish, but with a hint of girliness. She was actually kinda... pretty.

James shook his head. He didn't have time to think about girls, much less have a relationship. Besides, he just turned 29. This mystery girl didn't even look a day over 21. He snapped out of his thoughts when the blonde waitress came back with his drink, and a fluffy white towel resting on her other arm. She set the chocolate milkshake down before handing James the towel. He thanked her and she left to get his food. Using the towel to dry himself off as much as he could, avoiding the shards of glass still stuck in his skin. He decided he could clean it when he got home. James couldn't help but let his mind drift back to the pretty blonde girl. Even her voice was like beautiful music to him. He shook his head again, remembering the last time he had a relationship. His girlfriend ended up turning him in to the cops!

Evil witch.

Then again, her dad was a police officer.

The waitress came back with James' order and he took his time eating, mentally groaning at all his terrible choices he's made in his love life. When the waitress came floating back into his mind for a second time, he realized he forgot to check her name tag. He sat up straighter and looked around the small diner for the blonde girl, she was nowhere to be found. James sighed and stood up, fishing a twenty dollar bill out of his wallet and setting down on the table. Stepping out of the warm builing, James noticed it had stopped raining, but it was still pretty cold. He shivered a little and made his way to the side of the building where his motorcycle was parked. He was just about to turn the corner when he suddenly stopped himself. There were voices. One was a man with a low voice, the other voice was definitely female. It sounded like that girl from the diner. Sneaking a look over the corner, his suspicions were confirmed. The blonde waitress was struggling against a man who James assumed was her boyfriend, back pinned against the cold brick wall. Her boyfriend had his hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing it tighter each second. When James saw the helpess girl sobbing for help, he felt... something he's never felt for any girl. Or anyone, for that matter. He felt the need to save her from the guy who was hurting her.

He needed to protect her.

James felt a pang in his chest when the blonde shut her eyes in pain, as if she was giving up.

I've gotta do something.

Charlie took an order from an elderly couple sitting in a booth, smiling at them before leaving to give the order to the chef at the diner. She put the notepad and pen in the pocket of her apron and went to the back room to get a cloth and some spray n' wipe, walking back out into the dining area. The blonde waitress spotted a table where someone had just finished eating. She threw the trash away and was about to start cleaning the table when a man walked through the door, his clothes drenched from the rain. He took a seat at an empty booth in the corner of the diner. Charlie observed his appearance as she cleaned the table.

Black skinny jeans, tight black v-neck, black Doc Martens. He was pretty tall, somewhere near 6 ft 1. Even though he was obviously in the rain for some time, his hair was perfectly spiked up, every single strand in place. His hazel eyes were filled with specks of green and gold but they seemed darker, due to his dark long eyelashes. His jaw was lightly lined with scruff. Overall, he was actually kinda sexy... in a mysterious sort of way.

Charlie shook her head, blonde curls flying about in her high ponytail. She shouldn't be thinking about how hot this mystery guy was. First off, she had Jake, her loving boyfriend of eleven months. He had been acting a little strange for the past month, getting angry at small things and always making Charlie feel guilty, but she usually just ignored it. Maybe it was because Jake was under a lot of pressure at the moment. His dad wanted him to take over the family business, something he never wanted to do. She still loved Jake all the same, even though he gave her the occasional slap or held her so tight bruises would form.

Second of all, Charlie had turned 21 recently. This mystery man in black looked just under... 30? Yeah, something like that. It was like, a nine year difference. Nine years. A lot can happen in that time. While Charlie worked at the diner five days a week, like she had been doing for the past two and a half years, this guy probably had a steady job that paid well.

Oh, if only she knew.

"He's hot. You should go after him." Charlie's best friend told her, bringing the blonde back to reality.

"Sandra, you know I've been dating Jake for almost a year now," Charlie told her best friend. "Besides, look at him. He's probably like, 30 or something."

Sandra gave Charlie a strange look. "I bet he'd treat you better than Jake." Charlie groaned.

"Ugh, we've been over this. Jake's under a lot of pressure right now."

"But it doesn't give him the right to slap you whenever he wants! Maybe it's not because of his dad's business. Jake was probably drunk or something when he hurt you. I mean, you did say he came home late every night," Sandra argued. "Why don't you ever fight back anyway?"

Charlie sighed. "Can we not talk about this now? We have jobs to do." Sandra rolled her eyes.

"Fine," The brunette took spray n' wipe from Charlie. "But right now, I'm gonna clean this table while you go take mystery guy's order." Charlie sighed and widened her eyes, jutting her bottom lip out. "Nah uh Blondie, puppy dog eyes won't get you anywhere. Go take his order before I do." Sandra gave her friend a light push in the direction where mystery guy was sitting. Charlie sighed once more before making her way across the diner, taking her notepad and pen out.

Once she got to his table he looked up at her. "Hi, I'll be your server for the evening... or early morning," Charlie corrected herself after seeing the time on the wall clock. "What would you like to order?" The mystery guy told her his order and she wrote it down, giving the order to the chef. As Charlie made the mystery guy's drink, she thought back to what Sandra had said about Jake.

What if Jake was drunk when he hurt her? Charlie could never smell alcohol in his breath, but his words were kinda slurred when he talked. And what if Sandra was right about the mystery guy? If Charlie ever dated him, would he take better care of her?

Once the mystery guy's chocolate milkshake was ready, the blonde waitress got a big white towel from the back room. She made her way back to the mystery guy's booth and set the drink on the table, handing him the towel. He thanked her and she left. A few minutes later, Charlie checked the time, noticing it was almost 3:30 am. Her shift ended half an hour ago. "Hey Sam," she called out to the chef as she took her apron off. "I'm gonna head home, my shift ended a while ago."

"Ok, but before you go, your boyfriend is waiting near the back door for you." The fifty year old man told Charlie. She smiled at him before signing out, putting on her leather jacket and fetching her backpack.

Once she stepped into the cool breeze of the early morning, she spotted Jake leaning on the brick wall. She put her backpack down. "Hey Jake, I'ved missed you." Charlie went to hug him but stopped when he grabbed both of her wrists.

"Where the heck have you been?!" He yelled harshly, gripping her wrists tightly.

"I've been working here since six o'clock last night," Charlie told him. Jake shook his head at her.

"And you didn't think of telling me this yesterday?!" She gave him a look of disbelief at those words.

"I did tell you yesterday. All you did was wave me off... you didn't even look at me when I said it." Charlie pointed out.

Suddenly she was pushed against the brick wall, pain immediately shooting up her spine. "DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE THAT!" Jake snapped at her. She tried to make a move and run but he caught her before she could. He grabbed her shoulders and shoved her back into the wall, his hands keeping an iron grip on her. He leaned down closer to Charlie, noses almost touching. She definitely smelled alcohol in his breath this time. "Who gave you the right to talk to me like that?"

"I-Im sorry," Charlie apologized. "I d-didn't mean t-to t-alk to you l-like that." Jake didn't listen. Before Charlie could do anything a sharp pain hit her in the face. Jake had slapped her.

"You listen to me," Jake seethed. "You are my girlfriend, who's living in my apartment, so you have to do everything I say. Got it?" By now Charlie had a few tears streaming down her face as she continued to look away form Jake. He grabbed her face with one hand and forced her to look at him. "Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you. You're being disrespectful." Charlie stayed silent, letting the occasional sob escape her lips. Jake quickly let go of her and took a few steps away before coming back. This time he roughly grabbed her neck and pushed her up the wall, bringing the blonde up to eye level. "You know what? If you can't treat me with respect, you might as well just die." He said, his voice low. As each second passed, Jake squeezed Charlie's neck harder, crushing her windpipe. It was getting harder and harder for her to breathe. She finally gave up trying and closed her eyes, feeling the world slowly slipping away.

After a few seconds Charlie felt herself fall to the ground as oxygen rushed to fill her lungs. Her eyes flew open and widened when she saw someone beating up Jake. The moonlight made it easier for her to realize it was the mystery guy from the diner. Charlie gasped for air as the mystery guy continued to beat up her boyfriend. Well, ex boyfriend. After a swift kick to Jake's leg, the mystery guy turned to her. He held out his hand and she gratefully accepted it. "Are you alright?" He asked her as he helped her up, hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Well, if you consider a girl who's just been slapped, choked, and most likely has bruises on her wrists, neck and jaw alright... then I'm just fine." Charlie smirked at him. The concern in the tall man's eyes changed to amusement, this girl was special. She had been beaten and had almost died, yet she still had a little joke about it.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, ok then... I should uh, I should get going..." He trailed off awkwardly. He slowly turned around and made his way to his motorcycle, until Charlie stopped him. She grabbed her backpack and caught up with him.

"Wait!" The man turned back to the blonde. "Can I at least know who my saviour is?" She asked, her brown eyes filled with curiosity.

The mystery man froze for a second. He thought about changing his name so she wouldn't find out who he really was, but decided not to. He felt like he could trust this girl.

"I am James Diamond, 29 years of age." He said in a snobby voice, putting an arm behind his back and bowing down.

Charlie giggled, sticking her hand out. "The name's Charlotte Marquez, 21 years old. But unless you want to die in a campfire with a cactus shoved up your ass, you can call me Charlie." James smirked, shaking her hand. He liked this girl.

Too bad he was never going to see her again.

"Nice meeting you Charlie, but I've gotta go so uh... bye..." James smiled at her before quickly going to his motorcycle.

Suddenly Charlie got an idea. Why not go with James? Her parents are always too busy with work to notice her... they never even noticed the bruises she got from Jake. She can start fresh. Have a new life.

He put on his helmet and was about to take off when he heard Charlie call out to him.

"James! Wait!" He turned back to Charlie, who had hope in her light brown eyes. "Take me with you," she said, barely louder than a whisper. "Please... just until I get on my feet." She pleaded. Somehow James had heard her over the loud engine. He bit his lip. Should he do it? Even though he had met her less than and hour ago, he felt a special connection with her. If he takes her with him, she'll find out he's a criminal. She could end up turning him in to the cops. But he felt different about this girl, something that he couldn't put his finger on, but it was definitely a good thing. He'd never felt this way about anyone. James took off his helmet and handed it to Charlie.

"Hop on."

Lemme know what you think! :)